1. REPORTER ZERO. An Analysis of AND THE BAND PLAYED ON and the Social Entrepreneurship of Randy Shilts By LIAM PAL An Analysis of AND THE BAND PLAYED ON and the Social Entrepreneurship of Randy Shilts By LIAM PAL

2. Randy Shilts  Randy Shilts was born in 1951 and grew up in a working-class family in Aurora, Illinois.  He studied journalism at the University of Oregon and worked with the Oregon Daily Emerald, eventually becoming an award-winning managing editor.  It is important to point out that during his time at UO, Shilts came out publicly as a gay man at age 20. He ran for student office with the slogan “Come Out for Shilts.” –(Udesky 1).  After working as a freelance journalist for several years, he was hired as a national correspondent by the San Francisco Chronicle in 1981, becoming “the first openly gay reporter with a gay ‘beat’ in the American mainstream press.” –(Udesky 3).  Randy Shilts was born in 1951 and grew up in a working-class family in Aurora, Illinois.  He studied journalism at the University of Oregon and worked with the Oregon Daily Emerald, eventually becoming an award-winning managing editor.  It is important to point out that during his time at UO, Shilts came out publicly as a gay man at age 20. He ran for student office with the slogan “Come Out for Shilts.” –(Udesky 1).  After working as a freelance journalist for several years, he was hired as a national correspondent by the San Francisco Chronicle in 1981, becoming “the first openly gay reporter with a gay ‘beat’ in the American mainstream press.” –(Udesky 3).

3. Shilts Also Wrote Three Best-Selling, Widely Acclaimed LGBT-Political Books:

4. AND THE BAND PLAYED ON  First published in 1987.  This book chronicles the discovery and spread of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).  Shilts places a special emphasis on government indifference in the United States to what was then perceived as only a “gay disease.”  Shilts’ basis for writing this book appears to be that “while AIDS is caused by a biological agent, incompetence and apathy toward those who were initially affected by AIDS allowed the spread of the disease to become much worse—AIDS was allowed to happen” (Shilts 513).  Shilts mainly concentrates on organizations and communities that were hit hardest by AIDS, including the people given the task of finding the cause of the disease, and those that had to beg the government for money to fund research and provide social services to people who were dying.  First published in 1987.  This book chronicles the discovery and spread of Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV) and Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome (AIDS).  Shilts places a special emphasis on government indifference in the United States to what was then perceived as only a “gay disease.”  Shilts’ basis for writing this book appears to be that “while AIDS is caused by a biological agent, incompetence and apathy toward those who were initially affected by AIDS allowed the spread of the disease to become much worse—AIDS was allowed to happen” (Shilts 513).  Shilts mainly concentrates on organizations and communities that were hit hardest by AIDS, including the people given the task of finding the cause of the disease, and those that had to beg the government for money to fund research and provide social services to people who were dying.

5. Gay Community  AIDS in the United States first became apparent in gay men and IV drug users in Los Angeles, New York City, and San Francisco due to unsafe sexual and drug-abuse tactics. Shilts’ sources in the gay community tried to remember the last time everyone they knew were in good health (Shilts, 142-143).  A marked difference in these cities arose in two phases of consciousness in the gay community: “Before” in 1980, and “After” by 1985. “Before”, according to Shilts, was characterized by a care-free lifestyle. “After” represented the realization that homosexual men knew most or all of their friends were infected with AIDS (Shilts, 585-590).  AIDS in the United States first became apparent in gay men and IV drug users in Los Angeles, New York City, and San Francisco due to unsafe sexual and drug-abuse tactics. Shilts’ sources in the gay community tried to remember the last time everyone they knew were in good health (Shilts, 142-143).  A marked difference in these cities arose in two phases of consciousness in the gay community: “Before” in 1980, and “After” by 1985. “Before”, according to Shilts, was characterized by a care-free lifestyle. “After” represented the realization that homosexual men knew most or all of their friends were infected with AIDS (Shilts, 585-590).

6. Medical Community  Doctors were really the first people that had to deal with the toll that AIDS would take in the United States.  The discovery of AIDS in the blood supply of the United States, along with the terrible response by blood banking leadership happened as soon as 1982.  Shilts’ reporting exposed the attitudes among blood bank industry leaders that screening donors for hepatitis alone would offend the donors. The cost of screening all blood donations provided across the country every year was too expensive to be considered feasible (Shilts, 222).  Doctors were really the first people that had to deal with the toll that AIDS would take in the United States.  The discovery of AIDS in the blood supply of the United States, along with the terrible response by blood banking leadership happened as soon as 1982.  Shilts’ reporting exposed the attitudes among blood bank industry leaders that screening donors for hepatitis alone would offend the donors. The cost of screening all blood donations provided across the country every year was too expensive to be considered feasible (Shilts, 222). Dr. Don Francis

7. Political Community  The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) was responsible for tracking down and reporting all communicable diseases in the United States, but faced governmental apathy in the wake of a mounting crisis. Shilts describes how CDC epidemiologists continued to work after being denied funding for researching the disease repeatedly. Shilts regularly expressed his frustration describing instances of the CDC fighting with itself over how much time and attention was being paid to issues surrounding AIDS (Shilts, 292-293).  Shilts accused President Ronald Reagan of not doing enough to address AIDS because Regan did not say a word to the American people about this issue until 1987 (Shilts, 587- 598).  The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) was responsible for tracking down and reporting all communicable diseases in the United States, but faced governmental apathy in the wake of a mounting crisis. Shilts describes how CDC epidemiologists continued to work after being denied funding for researching the disease repeatedly. Shilts regularly expressed his frustration describing instances of the CDC fighting with itself over how much time and attention was being paid to issues surrounding AIDS (Shilts, 292-293).  Shilts accused President Ronald Reagan of not doing enough to address AIDS because Regan did not say a word to the American people about this issue until 1987 (Shilts, 587- 598).

8. News Media Community  Assigned to write about AIDS full-time at The San Francisco Chronicle in 1982, Shilts had a unique vantage point that he repeatedly criticized the U.S. news media for not covering the medical crisis of IDS because it didn’t affect “people who mattered”, only gays and drug addicts (Shilts, 137).  A general phobia of AIDS was worsened by the news media who erroneously reported that AIDS could be contracted by household contact, without checking any facts in their stories, which encouraged mass hysteria across the United States (Shilts, 229-301).  Assigned to write about AIDS full-time at The San Francisco Chronicle in 1982, Shilts had a unique vantage point that he repeatedly criticized the U.S. news media for not covering the medical crisis of IDS because it didn’t affect “people who mattered”, only gays and drug addicts (Shilts, 137).  A general phobia of AIDS was worsened by the news media who erroneously reported that AIDS could be contracted by household contact, without checking any facts in their stories, which encouraged mass hysteria across the United States (Shilts, 229-301).

9. AND THE BAND PLAYED ON was adapted into an Emmy-winning HBO movie of the same name in 1993.

10. Other Major Motion Pictures that Feature HIV/AIDS.

11. Randy Shilts died on February 17, 1994.  Shilts did not want to be told the status of his HIV test until he had completed his writing of And the Band Played On, as he was worried that the test result, whatever it might be, would interfere with his objectivity as a writer. He was diagnosed at HIV positive in March 1987, but did not publicly disclose his AIDS diagnosis until shortly before he died. –(Lozano).

12. WHY I CHOSE THIS STORY  The AIDS epidemic has always fascinated me. As a gay man, I just couldn’t believe that so many of my peers and the people who came before me are currently living with or have perished from this disease. I became aware of AIDS after the first time I saw PHILADELPHIA, a film in which Tom Hanks plays a lawyer who was wrongfully terminated at his firm due to he having AIDS.  I have always been interested in the “gay lifestyle”..(gay bars, pride parades, fighting for gay marriage, etc.) However, I had never really realized the impact HIV/AIDS has had on my community until my grandmother (who raised me) claimed that AIDS was God’s punishment for gay people.  The AIDS epidemic has always fascinated me. As a gay man, I just couldn’t believe that so many of my peers and the people who came before me are currently living with or have perished from this disease. I became aware of AIDS after the first time I saw PHILADELPHIA, a film in which Tom Hanks plays a lawyer who was wrongfully terminated at his firm due to he having AIDS.  I have always been interested in the “gay lifestyle”..(gay bars, pride parades, fighting for gay marriage, etc.) However, I had never really realized the impact HIV/AIDS has had on my community until my grandmother (who raised me) claimed that AIDS was God’s punishment for gay people.

13.  Naturally, this broke my heart. I started doing research on this “AIDS” thing to see what it was all about in a “real” sense. Was I going to get AIDS and die just because I happen to be a homosexual?  In my initial research, I couldn’t believe how many gay men HAVE died from AIDS. Was my grandmother right?  To see pictures and read stories of so many men who died alone and scared continues to break my heart…everyday. I genuinely did not want their lives to have been wasted and forgotten.  Most of these people lived and died before I was even born (1991). So why does it matter to me? Why would the lives of these “queens” matter at all in the grand scheme of things?  I think a good answer to that question is that I would never want to be forgotten in a sense where so many lives were lost and “thrown away.” These homosexuals before me lived a proud and open life and died because of it.  I can never imagine what it must’ve been like in the early 1980s dying from a disease that NOBODY knew anything about, but still blamed it on the gay community. How would you feel?  The HIV/AIDS epidemic is a part of LGBT History…and LGBT History is a part of U.S. History. These stories are incredibly important. My story is incredibly important.  Naturally, this broke my heart. I started doing research on this “AIDS” thing to see what it was all about in a “real” sense. Was I going to get AIDS and die just because I happen to be a homosexual?  In my initial research, I couldn’t believe how many gay men HAVE died from AIDS. Was my grandmother right?  To see pictures and read stories of so many men who died alone and scared continues to break my heart…everyday. I genuinely did not want their lives to have been wasted and forgotten.  Most of these people lived and died before I was even born (1991). So why does it matter to me? Why would the lives of these “queens” matter at all in the grand scheme of things?  I think a good answer to that question is that I would never want to be forgotten in a sense where so many lives were lost and “thrown away.” These homosexuals before me lived a proud and open life and died because of it.  I can never imagine what it must’ve been like in the early 1980s dying from a disease that NOBODY knew anything about, but still blamed it on the gay community. How would you feel?  The HIV/AIDS epidemic is a part of LGBT History…and LGBT History is a part of U.S. History. These stories are incredibly important. My story is incredibly important.

14. The Coldest Day in December  On December 24, 2012, someone I know very well was officially diagnosed with HIV.  Now before you go off and judge him and consider him a promiscuous gay slut, you should know that there are many ways of contracting HIV. I won’t get into the details, but will always defend him against criticisms of *why* and *how* this disease happened to him.  I don’t consider him guilty. I don’t consider him innocent. I now just merely just consider him as someone who is trying to survive.  We can all learn a lot from the lives and experiences of the people who are currently living with or who have died from HIV/AIDS.  On December 24, 2012, someone I know very well was officially diagnosed with HIV.  Now before you go off and judge him and consider him a promiscuous gay slut, you should know that there are many ways of contracting HIV. I won’t get into the details, but will always defend him against criticisms of *why* and *how* this disease happened to him.  I don’t consider him guilty. I don’t consider him innocent. I now just merely just consider him as someone who is trying to survive.  We can all learn a lot from the lives and experiences of the people who are currently living with or who have died from HIV/AIDS.

15.  More than 1.1 million people in the United States are currently living with HIV infection, and almost 1 in 6 (15.8%) are unaware of their infection.  Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM), particularly young black/African American MSM, are most seriously affected by HIV.  GET tested.  KNOW your status. (SOURCE: U.S. Statistics—AIDS.gov) http://www.aids.gov/hiv-aids-basics/hiv-aids-101/statistics/  More than 1.1 million people in the United States are currently living with HIV infection, and almost 1 in 6 (15.8%) are unaware of their infection.  Gay, bisexual, and other men who have sex with men (MSM), particularly young black/African American MSM, are most seriously affected by HIV.  GET tested.  KNOW your status. (SOURCE: U.S. Statistics—AIDS.gov) http://www.aids.gov/hiv-aids-basics/hiv-aids-101/statistics/

16. In Regards to Social Entrepreneurship  Randy Shilts is my favorite investigative reporter. This book answered a great deal of questions that I had about the origins and politics of the American HIV/AIDS epidemic.  When thinking about this story in a lens of “Social Entrepreneurship”, Randy Shilts proves to be one of the greatest social entrepreneurs of the past 25 years due to his “unrelenting dedication to achieving mission rather than measuring success by a financial bottom- line.”  Randy Shilts is my favorite investigative reporter. This book answered a great deal of questions that I had about the origins and politics of the American HIV/AIDS epidemic.  When thinking about this story in a lens of “Social Entrepreneurship”, Randy Shilts proves to be one of the greatest social entrepreneurs of the past 25 years due to his “unrelenting dedication to achieving mission rather than measuring success by a financial bottom- line.”

17. Works Cited: Lozano, Carrie, Daniel Moulthrop, and Jigar Mehta. Reporter Zero [video recording]. Produced at the Graduate School of Journalism, University of California, Berkeley. 27 Oct. 2014. Shilts, Randy. And The Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic. St. Martins Press, New York, NY: 1987. Udesky, Laurie. “Randy Shilts: ‘For Me, Coming Out Was Very Political.’ (Interview).” The Progressive 1991: pg. 30. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. 3 Nov. 2014. Lozano, Carrie, Daniel Moulthrop, and Jigar Mehta. Reporter Zero [video recording]. Produced at the Graduate School of Journalism, University of California, Berkeley. 27 Oct. 2014. Shilts, Randy. And The Band Played On: Politics, People, and the AIDS Epidemic. St. Martins Press, New York, NY: 1987. Udesky, Laurie. “Randy Shilts: ‘For Me, Coming Out Was Very Political.’ (Interview).” The Progressive 1991: pg. 30. Opposing Viewpoints in Context. 3 Nov. 2014.